Reality Check
by angelchica
Summary: When Cordelia lands her first starring role in a major production, the set becomes somewhat real and its up to the Fang Gang to figure out a way back from the medieval times, if they can even remember who they are, before trouble ensures. C/A of course a
1. Landing the Job

Title: Reality Check (part 1)  
  
Author: Angelchica  
  
Email: Angelchica622@hotmail.com  
  
Summary: When Cordelia lands her first starring role in a major production, the set becomes somewhat real and its up to the Fang Gang to figure out a way back from the medieval times, if they can even remember who they are, before trouble ensures. C/A of course and a some F/G. This is part 1 of 2  
  
Spoiler: This takes place after the third season finale. Only Angel resurfaced from the water and Cordelia is also back except they haven't admitted their true feelings to one another. Hopefully this didn't spoil anything!  
  
Disclaimer: No I don't own any of the characters of course anyone in their right mind would not mind owning Angel I mean come on, just look at him!!!  
  
Feedback: Please R & R!!! It's your reviews that push me into writing these stories!!! Let me know how I'm doing and what I should add or take out!!! If you have any ideas at all and want to see them put down in paper and on this site, let me know so I can try my best to make it a story!  
  
**Thank you so much Katie for the idea! Great minds think alike! We started talking about this and all of a sudden everything just fell into place. This idea was awesome and I couldn't have come up with a better idea w/o your help! Thanks for the Latin too!***  
  
************************************************************************  
Landing the Job  
  
It was a slow day at Angel Investigations and the gang was just in the lobby lounging around when they heard the door suddenly open. Cordelia came in walking towards them. They all got up and waited for her to speak. Angel looked at her and noticed that she didn't look to happy. He feared the worst. He didn't want to hear the words come out but he knew she wouldn't keep it in.  
  
"Well?" Fred asked. Cordelia looked down at the ground and started to cry. Angel looked at her and was heartbroken. He knew how much this audition meant for her. She left the Hyperion looking forward to auditioning for the lead in a new movie. He knew she was a great actress and all he wanted was to go over to the production company and find out why she didn't get the job. Angel walked over to her and hugged her.  
  
"It's OK. You'll find something better next time," Angel said trying to sound as comforting and soothing but he knew that in the long run it wouldn't work out as he would want to. He just needed to make sure that she would be alright.  
  
"Something better? This was the job I was waiting for the longest time. It was the leading role," Cordelia said as she sobbed. They all looked at her sadly. They all felt bad for her. They knew how much she was counting on this job.  
  
"Well what happened?" Gunn asked. He knew it wasn't the question she wanted to answer but he had to ask it anyways. She had been preparing for this day since he could remember. She had driven them crazy about it. She would go over her lines constantly until she would give herself a headache, worse than the ones she would get when the visions left their mark on her which if you think about it, is pretty bad but she didn't care.  
  
"What happened? What happened was that my award winning tears was what got me the part!" Cordelia said as she started to laugh. Angel was confused. Fred rejoiced and gave Cordelia a huge hug. Cordelia turned to Angel knowing that he wasn't catching up to her sarcasm. Sometimes she wondered if he would ever actually join them in their century.  
  
"I got the part, Angel. I gave such a beautiful performance. The tears came out when they were supposed to that they were so pleased that they gave me the job in an instant," Cordelia squealed. Angel let the smile out and gave her a huge hug. He still seemed a bit confused but he was starting to get used to her sarcasm and knew he would get it.  
  
"So when do you start?" Fred asked impatiently with her southern accent.  
  
"Tomorrow morning," Cordelia said excitedly. She couldn't believe that her dream to be a famous actress was finally going to come true. She had strived for this moment and finally everything seemed to be falling into place. She still knew she had to be careful.  
  
"Can we come?" Angel asked. Cordelia hesitated. She remembered the last time that Angel had been on the set. She was working on a commercial that made her wear a skimpy bathing suit that she almost fell out of. She remembered how badly the director had treated her and Angel, being his chivalrous self, decided to take matters into his own hands and make him apologize but when he didn't, the situation got kind of sticky. She remembered how embarrassed she was but she can't help to smile about it now.  
  
"I promise I won't do anything out of the ordinary. I'll be good," Angel said. Unless of course someone tries to disrespect her again, Angel thought to himself but made sure not to let that slip out otherwise there would be no way she would let him come.  
  
"Angel, you yourself aren't ordinary," Cordelia pointed out. She just loved teasing him and giving him a hard time. Angel gave her that look she was waiting for and then finally gave up. "Alright you can come, but the minute you pull something off, you're gone."   
  
The Hyperion doors opened and a client walked in asking for Angel. They all sighed and realized that they weren't going to be able to celebrate just yet for the City of Angels never sleeps, especially when you lead their lives. Being able to live a normal day without any of these demon infestations would be way of out of the ordinary for them.  
  
"Come on guys, we don't have a day off," Fred said as they made their way towards the client.  
  
* * *   
  
"Are you certain this is going to work well?" Wesley asked as he looked into the written incantation written on the piece of paper he was holding. He looked at it and realized that it was all written in Latin. He excelled in Latin but he was more nervous about the fact that he could get recognized and possibly killed in what he was about to accomplish. He knew he was playing the wrong cards but he didn't care anymore. He didn't have any other choice. His betrayal cost him everything and now he had to settle with the consequences but now for some reason he just didn't seem to care anymore.  
  
"Of course it will. Why wouldn't it? You are a very learned person. I can't thank you enough for finally coming to and realizing that you can actually be an important asset to our company," Lilah said.  
  
"Look Lilah, I don't need to put up with this crap from you anymore. I'm not your friend. I never was and never will. I'm doing this because I want to, not because you want me to," Wesley said in an angry pitch in his tone. He hated that Lilah thought she had some kind of control over him which in fact she had none and he made sure she knew that.  
  
"I don't care what your reason is to be doing this. I know why you are doing it but I couldn't possibly care less. I do care that you are on my side and that together we can take Angel down. We can hit him where it hurts him the most," Lilah said as she walked up to Wesley and put her hand on his shoulder. Wesley slightly tilted his head and then shrugged her hand off. She was trying to seduce him and Wesley knew it very well.  
  
"Do you think he will help us?" Wesley asked a little nervous about their plot.  
  
"Oh absolutely," Lilah said as she turned around to face Connor who was waiting there.  
  
* * *  
  
Angel pulled up his car in the back entrance of the company building. Fred and Gunn came out of the car. Angel started to but noticed that Cordelia was still in the car.   
  
"What's wrong?" Angel asked her in a concerned matter. He knew Cordelia and knew that something wasn't playing right in her head.  
  
"I don't know. I guess I'm just nervous. This is the real thing. This isn't a commercial shoot. This is a movie and I'm going to be a part of it. My dream is coming true and I guess I'm still wondering if something will go wrong or something," Cordelia said.  
  
"Look Cordy. Everything is going to be fine. Be excited. You are getting a chance to do something that some people only dream about doing. You on the other hand are doing it. You are going out there and going to make a name for yourself without the help of anyone. Nothing is going to ruin this, you'll see," Angel said.   
  
Cordelia smiled. Somehow he just always did that to her. Always said the right things to make her feel better, to feel important. She loved that about him. She loved everything about him but she held back. She hadn't even told him the real reason why her and Groo had separated. She told him that things just weren't working out to well and that she just could no longer be his princess. She didn't tell him the real reason. She didn't tell him that she loved him. She knew who he loved and she knew that it wasn't her and she didn't want to do anything to get in between something she had no chance in.  
  
"Thanks," Cordelia said with her award winning smile that got them all the time. Cordelia got out of the car and started to walk with Angel but then lost her balance a bit but Angel was right by her side to make sure she wouldn't fall. She was having a vision of herself in the movie. It all looked so real. She guessed that it was the final cut.  
  
"Are you OK?" Angel asked her as he noticed that she was staring into space.  
  
"I am now. The Powers sent me a vision about the movie. I guess it was their way of letting me know that everything is going to come out without a hitch. I guess they aren't so bad after all," Cordelia said to herself as they walked into the studio.  
  
The studio was amazing. There were people walking all over the place with clipboards in their hands and head sets on. There were people walking around carrying props and others just chatting. Someone came up to Cordelia.  
  
"Ma'am, are you Cordelia Chase?" the casting director asked to make sure.  
  
"Yes that would be me," Cordelia said.  
  
"Will you please come with me. We have to get you through wardrobe and make up."  
  
Cordelia turned to Angel and smiled as she followed the casting director. Angel walked around the set and noticed that there was a chair with Cordelia's name on it. I bet she'll be excited to see that, he thought to himself. He walked some more but then something caught his eyes. There was a young man, maybe about 16 years old standing by a door holding a clipboard. Their eyes met for a second and then the young man disappeared into the adjoining corridor. The young man reminded Angel of his son. Maybe it was because he looked young but all Angel knew was that he missed his son and wished that he could be with him. He saw Gunn and Fred on the other side and went towards them.   
  
The shooting went on as scheduled and Cordelia looked amazing, Angel thought to himself. They had her dressed in a long dress that was appropriate for the medieval times. They had her doing some of the little scenes with her maid. Angel didn't take his eyes off of her. She was so beautiful. He wanted to go up there and swoop her up in his arms but he knew that he couldn't. She didn't feel that way for him and even though she wasn't with Groo, he knew she probably felt heartbroken. They had broken up so suddenly with no warning and he knew she wasn't ready for that. Angel shook away his thought, knowing that what he had was going to have to be good enough for now.   
  
Angel noticed that this director was nicer than the last one. His name was William Priceton. He always wore his sunglasses. Never took them off. He was dressed in a black turtleneck and wore a director's cap as well. He seemed somewhat familiar to him but he couldn't place it. Finally the director called it a wrap for the day and all the actors were dismissed. Cordelia ran to Angel and the gang.  
  
"So what did you think? Be honest. If I totally suck then let me know," Cordelia said.  
  
"You were awesome!" Fred said with so much enthusiasm as she hugged Cordelia.  
  
"Yeah girl! I'm down with this whole acting thing. You think that maybe you can lend a brotha a hand and get me a gig?" Gunn asked.  
  
"I don't think so," Cordelia said.  
  
"Girl, you be trippin'," he said to her.  
  
"Alright. Maybe I can get you guys to be extras or something in some of the fighting scenes. How does that sound?" Cordelia asked. They all shook their heads excitedly. Cordelia looked over at Angel.  
  
"I can even get you one too. Maybe your melodrama can get you a part," Cordelia said jokingly as she walked away to talk to the casting director. She pointed towards them as she talked to the casting director. Then he walked away and Cordelia flashed them a thumbs up as she went over to get changed. Fred and Gunn started giggling and jumping up and down in joy and Angel just shook his head at the site.  
  
* * *  
  
"So how did it go?" Lilah asked. She was at her office and was going through some files and adding them to the computer. When she heard that Wesley hadn't responded, she looked up at him, expecting for him to answer her back knowing that something went wrong. She knew that she couldn't trust men. That's why she held her own.  
  
"It went pretty good except for the fact that they were all there," Wesley said as his voice rose slightly at the thought of what Lilah would say or do.   
  
"What do you mean they were all there?" Lilah asked as her brow raised. She knew exactly what he was talking about but she needed to hear it from him.  
  
"I mean that they were there. Angel and the rest of them were at the shoot and somehow managed to get cast as extras," Wesley said to Lilah knowing she would be upset.  
  
"Did he see you or recognize you? Because if you blew our cover I will kill you."  
  
"No, fortunately. Being the director has its perks like wearing the hat and sunglasses but Connor here almost blew our cover," Wesley pointed his head towards Connor. Lilah looked over at him and gave him a reproachful look. Connor rolled his eyes.  
  
"Look, he didn't recognize me alright and even if he did I would have made sure he knew that I hate him with all that I am," Connor said. Lilah smiled and waved Wesley over to her to fill out some more paperwork.  
  
"I think we should go ahead with the plan tomorrow. I know it's a little soon but we can't risk Angel finding out what we're up to. He might be there again tomorrow but we won't give him a chance. What do you think? You up to it?" Lilah asked Wesley.  
  
"Yes. Tomorrow then it shall be," Wesley said to her as he let out a sigh.  
  
"Are you ready? If anything fails I need you there. Do you understand?" Lilah asked.  
  
"Don't worry about me. I've been waiting for this moment and I won't let u down," Connor said with a smirk as he left the office and closed the door behind him.  
  
* * *  
  
Cordelia sat in front of the mirror. She was on a well deserved break. The director seemed to be in an edgy mood today and was working them all hard but she understood all the stress he must be going through since it was his first big production and needed to make sure that everything went well with no incidents. Cordelia looked at the mirror and saw only her reflection. She turned around and stared right into Angel.  
  
"You shouldn't be in here. You can get in trouble. Besides, aren't you supposed to be on set or anything. You're not chickening out now are you?" Cordelia teased. She knew that acting wasn't exactly something Angel was big on except when it came to watching his hero Charleton Heston perform but this time it was he who is the actor.  
  
"No of course not I was just seeing how you were. You seemed a bit tired," Angel said.  
  
"Yeah I'm fine though. I'm just glad that the director had enough mercy to give us a break otherwise you wouldn't see me too cheery," Cordelia explained.   
  
"You know you're really impressing me with this whole acting thing. I'm very proud of you," Angel said as he saw Cordelia smile. They heard someone knock on the door and yell out to them to get back on set.  
  
"I guess we're up. It's time to let everyone else see your melodrama. Don't screw it up. It's the big scene. You don't want to look like a dork in the big screen," Cordelia said.  
  
"Well it's not like I've never handled a sword before or anything," Angel said as he referred to his part in the movie which basically had him doing what he knew how to do best: fighting. Only of course without actually killing anyone.  
  
"Yeah but don't forget. This is a movie, not real life and the people aren't vampires or demons. They are people even if their hearts don't reflect that," Cordelia said.  
  
"I'll keep that in mind," Angel said as he opened the door and led Cordelia out to the set. They walked out into the set and noticed that almost everyone was in position. Cordelia went to her mark and was handed a sword. All the rest of the extras were there and held their swords. It was the massive fight scene that would define the whole moment. The minute the director yelled action, everyone started their scene. They were all engaged in their swordfight. Cordelia was grateful that Angel had taught her how to master the sword otherwise she would have had trouble as she looked at some of the woman that were trying to hold onto the sword which seemed like a hard enough task for them.  
  
Angel brought his sword down and across on the people. It was actually a lot harder to pretend to kill them than to actually do the deed. He had to make sure that he brought the sword close enough but not to the point that it would make them bleed. Angel looked out to and spotted Fred and Gunn side by side doing their best to impress Hollywood. Angel "killed" one of the knights and then something caught his eyes. He noticed that the director went off to the back and someone else came into his place. He sneaked into the back room and didn't come out of there but then an extra came up from behind Angel so he forced Angel to forget the situation and engage in some more sword fighting.  
  
* * *  
"Could you have been any more closer to losing the moment?" Lilah asked annoyed.  
  
"I'm here. Let's get this done," Wesley said as he went over to the middle of the pentagram that was drawn in the middle of the floor. Lilah lit the candles and placed them all at the corner of the star that was drawn in the middle. A bodyguard approached him with a steaming hot brand. Wesley held his breath and held out his wrist. He closed his eyes as the hot iron penetrated his skin. The bodyguard pulled it away and Wesley opened his eyes and looked down at his new mark. It looked like a triangle with an infinite sign in the middle. He looked up at Lilah and nodded his head for her to proceed. She overturned the container that she held and let the special contents fall on Wesley and the pentagram. Wesley looked up and then closed his eyes and readied himself to say the words he had taken time to memorize. The moment was perfect and anything wrong could mess it all up. Lilah motioned for Connor who already had the emblem branded into his skin, to enter the pentagram.  
  
"Potestas mali evoco mens hominum sistere," Wesley chanted in Latin as the wind picked up and the candles dimmed until eventually there was no light left. In the darkness, Wesley lifted up the Angel Investigations business card.  
  
* * *  
  
The actors were still on set engaged in the fighting scene but they all felt the strong breeze blow through. Cordelia lowered her sword and looked around as she squinted her eyes in order to see clearly. She brought her hand up to her eyes. What was going on? This wasn't part of the shoot. They hadn't told her anything about it. She looked over to Fred and Gunn who were in each others arms, obviously appalled by the unknown special effects. She looked over at Angel who was staring back at her. He was just as puzzled as she was. The lights started flashing and you could hear some of the extras screams.  
  
* * *   
"Praeteritus hac charta mutabo et animae illorum quorum eliguntur includo," Wesley said as the candles suddenly lit back up again by themselves. Wesley continued to hold the card up towards the ceiling and held onto it as if it were his own life.  
  
A strong breeze blew everyone in the room except for Wesley and Connor.  
  
"Invoca! Invoca!" Wesley shouted with as he felt a strong force go through him.  
  
A sharp light shone on them and just like that they were still, lying on the ground. Lilah went up to Wesley and Connor and poked at Wesley who remained immovable. Lilah got up and walked over to the set. She pulled through the curtains and was shocked at the sight. All of them were frozen, unmoved, lying on the floor with their eyes closed shut. Everyone was indeed a victim to the trance and it had worked like a charm or at least she hoped it did but she wouldn't know until it was all settled. Lilah walked over to Cordelia. She looked as if she was sleeping. Lilah hated her with all her might. She pretended to care about things that she shouldn't and Lilah couldn't stand her. Plus when it came down to fashion, Lilah knew she wasn't one to fight her. Lilah looked over to her side and smiled. She got up and walked over towards Angel who also was laying on the ground. Lilah knelt down and smirked. How she was loving this special moment.  
  
"I guess you aren't immune to everything are you. Do you know how easy it would be for me to just kill you right this instant. I would but you deserve a long and painful death. One I know Wesley and your own son won't hesitate to make you go through. Plus if I kill you now, I wouldn't be able to kill that which you love and that simply isn't acceptable. You are going to pay, Angel. Mark my words, you will pay," Lilah said as she kicked Angel's side and walked towards the exit followed by her bodyguards. 


	2. Medieval Times

Title: Reality Check (part 1)  
  
Author: Angelchica  
  
Email: Angelchica622@hotmail.com  
  
Summary: When Cordelia lands her first starring role in a major production, the set becomes somewhat real and its up to the Fang Gang to figure out a way back from the medieval times, if they can even remember who they are, before trouble ensures. C/A of course and a some F/G. This is part 1 of 2  
  
Spoiler: This takes place after the third season finale. Only Angel resurfaced from the water and Cordelia is also back except they haven't admitted their true feelings to one another. Hopefully this didn't spoil anything!  
  
Disclaimer: No I don't own any of the characters of course anyone in their right mind would not mind owning Angel I mean come on, just look at him!!!  
  
Feedback: Please R & R!!! It's your reviews that push me into writing these stories!!! Let me know how I'm doing and what I should add or take out!!! If you have any ideas at all and want to see them put down in paper and on this site, let me know so I can try my best to make it a story!  
  
**Thank you so much Katie for the idea! Great minds think alike! We started talking about this and all of a sudden everything just fell into place. This idea was awesome and I couldn't have come up with a better idea w/o your help! Thanks for the Latin too!***  
  
************************************************************************  
  
Medieval Times  
  
Milan, Italy 1222  
  
  
Cordelia opened her eyes and squinted. She looked around and then got up. She started to walk around and expected to hit the wall of the set but that never happened. Cordelia looked around confused but then realized that she was no longer on the set. Where was everyone else?  
  
"This can't be good," Cordelia said to herself as she started hearing some trotting from behind. She turned around and saw that a man was mounted on a horse and was quickly approaching her. Cordelia turned back around and started to run. Her long dress bothered her. She looked down and noticed that she was still wearing the same dress from the movie. She picked it up and then ran like a mad woman. Then another man approached her from the front and Cordelia ran the other way only to be met with the same consequences. She turned back the other way and noticed that she was surrounded.  
  
"Well, look here what we found. Looks like we finally found a prize for our hard work," the peasant said. Cordelia looked at them all. They all looked disgusting, as if they were hungry for something and Cordelia hoped that it wasn't her.  
  
"Look guys, I'm just a bit lost here and I really don't want to deal with this right now," Cordelia said to them. The men just laughed and one approached her.  
  
"You don't have to feel lost anymore, baby. I'm right here," one of the peasants said.  
  
"Don't make me hurt you," Cordelia said knowing that they thought that she was crazy.  
  
"Hurt me? A wench like you?" he said. Cordelia opened her mouth to complain. How could someone disrespect her in that way. Cordelia was infuriated and made sure to let them know that. She threw out a punch and hit the man in the face which made his nose bleed and then brought her knee up and hit him in the stomach while bringing down her elbow on the peasants back. She felt the pain surge through her body but she knew that it was in fact the peasant that felt more pain. She knew though that she could probably not handle all the other approaching peasants. One of them grabbed her by the arm and then threw her to the ground making her hit the tree. Another peasant grabbed her by her other arm and forced her to get up. He grabbed her by the neck.   
  
"This is going to teach you respect," he said but then a voice interrupted him.  
  
"How about I teach you some respect," the voice said. The men all turned around and charged towards him. The man fought with skill. The peasants were no match for him. Cordelia fell back down to the ground and was relieved that he had shown up. She held onto her side which was where she had hit the tree. The man finally took them all out. He looked around to make sure no one else was around and then started to approach Cordelia. He extended his hand and Cordelia took it. She hesitated to get up but he made sure to help her.  
  
"Are you alright, my Lady?" the man asked. Cordelia looked up at the man and couldn't believe it.  
  
"Oh my gosh! Angel! You're here! I thought that maybe I had gone through another portal and that I was alone but oh my gosh I should have known it would be you saving me!" Cordelia yelled out to him as she hugged him, not wanting to let go.  
  
"My Lady, this Angel that you speak of. I am not he. I am Liam. I believe you have me confused," Liam said with his Irish accent. Cordelia looked up at him. He looked exactly like Angel but then she thought back to when Angel was a mortal and his name was Liam. Cordelia pulled away from him. Whatever was going on she did not like and knew that it couldn't be good. How was she supposed to get home when Angel was Liam and probably thought of her as some mad woman.   
  
Then she looked up at the sky and noticed that it was pure daylight. She looked back down at Angel, or better yet Liam, and then pressed her ear on his chest. Liam looked down at her a bit uncomfortably. Cordelia closed her eyes at the sound of his heartbeat. He was human. She looked up at him and then smiled as a single tear came running down.   
  
"My Lady, why do you shed the tears?" Liam asked as he put his finger on her cheek in order to wipe away the tear that had fallen from Cordelia's eyes.  
  
"Oh don't worry about it. I'm just a bit overwhelmed. So you're not Angel, huh?" she asked to make sure not knowing how to take in everything that was going on.  
  
"No, my Lady. I am sorry but I am not he," Liam said hoping not to disappoint her.  
  
"Oh, well I'm really sorry for coming unto you like that it's just that I have a friend who looks and pretty much is exactly the way you are. One question though. Is this real? This whole set is real?" Cordelia asked.  
  
"I'm not quite certain as to what you mean, my Lady," Liam said a bit confused.  
  
"Where are we and what year is this?" Cordelia asked.  
  
"We are right now in Milan in front of the Wyndam-Price castle in 1222. Do you not remember?" he asked her.  
  
"Wyndam-Price castle? Like you mean Wesley Wyndam-Price?" Cordelia asked in a shocked manner. Could it be that maybe Wesley could have gone through as well?  
  
"Why yes. He is what some people like to call him the righteous king," Liam said.  
  
"Some people meaning not you," Cordelia stated realizing that Liam and Wesley's situation was still somewhat the same as Angel had left it in Los Angeles  
  
"He pretends to care about our needs but when it comes right down to it, he doesn't. He never has and never will," Liam said as he paused but then looked up at Cordelia. "You know you look familiar. What is your name?"   
  
"Cordelia Chase," Cordelia said but then Liam turned around as if he heard something approaching.  
  
"They are probably coming to get you. I should go," Liam said as he started to walk.  
  
"Coming to get me? Then don't you think you should help me out or something?" she asked a bit scared and thrown off by his sudden twist of action.  
  
"You don't have to worry. I'm sure they won't do anything to you. They can't. The king would not allow anything to happen to the princess," Liam said as he continued to walk.  
  
"No please wait! I'm not a princess. I was one in a different land and dimension but that's not the point right now," Cordelia said as she tried to catch up to her but couldn't run due to her throbbing side. Liam turned around and sensed that she was having some trouble walking.  
  
"My Lady, you shall be fine in their hands. They will take care of you," Liam said to her. Cordelia looked into his loving eyes. How she loved them. She could stare into them for hours and hours and not get bored.  
  
"Please don't leave," Cordelia said as she held onto his hand. Liam looked into her eyes. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his life. Sure she came onto him looking like a complete dork but she made a beautiful one and he couldn't help but feel for her. Especially with her being hurt. There was something about her that was calling out to him. She looked so familiar and it wasn't the fact that she was a princess. It's as if he had known her and been friends with her but he knew that was impossible. Someone of her stature didn't belong with him. The horses arrived and the knights came down.  
  
"Princess Cordelia. How many times is it now? Three? Four?" the knight said as he took off his helmet. Cordelia looked at him and was shocked.  
  
"Gunn! I'm happy to see you!" Cordelia said but then realized he wouldn't understand.  
  
"Well technically yes but it's Sir Charles for you ma'am. Sir Charles Gunn," he said. Cordelia shook her head. This was going to take some getting used to. Gunn looked at her and realized that she was hurt and then saw that there was a young man standing next to her. "Princess, are you hurt? Did he do this to you?" Gunn asked.  
  
"Chill out! He didn't do this to me. He was the one who made sure this was the only thing that happened to me," Cordelia said to Sir Charles.  
  
"Chill out? Princess I am not familiar with that," Gunn said.  
  
"It means don't worry. It's no big alright. Now I order you to umm...as a reward to this young man for saving my life, I order you to give him a horse to accompany us to the castle. Is that understood?" she asked to everyone only to be met with a 'Yes, my Lady'.  
  
"Did I do that good or what?" Cordelia whispered to Liam. He could only smile and helped her up the horse and climbed up with her and they all rode to the castle.  
  
When they arrived, Angel got off the horse and helped Cordelia down. They stayed together in each others arms for a while before realizing that Sir Charles was staring at them.  
  
"Princess Cordelia, you should mind yourself. I'm sure the King would not approve," Sir Charles said as they saw a young woman start running down the stairs and run towards Cordelia.   
  
"I'm so glad you are alright. You gave me such a fright," she said. Cordelia looked at her and then laughed.   
  
"Fred! It had to be you!" she said happily as she hugged her then realized she probably should have waited than to have called her Fred.  
  
"Fred? I like that. Short for Winifred," she said in her cute voice. She turned and saw Sir Charles and shyly turned away. Cordelia noticed this and looked at Sir Charles. She motioned with her head to approach Fred.  
  
"My Lady, I come to you as your humble servant. If ever you need something, I will be of service to you," Sir Charles said to Fred. Cordelia noticed that Sir Charles actually was a little more shy than the Gunn she knew. Fred turned around and looked down and thanked him politely. Sir Charles smiled and then retreated back to his post. Fred looked and noticed that a handsome, young man was standing next to Cordelia. Fred looked at Cordelia and her face didn't seem to happy. She had never seen him and he didn't seem to be of their social class based on the way that he was dressed.  
  
"May I ask who you are?" Fred asked Liam, noticing his handsome dark features.  
  
"My name is Liam. I am here for I have rendered my services to Princess Cordelia."  
  
"Please, just Cordelia. It gets kind of old when you live with a guy named Groo who's favorite word is princess," Cordelia said remembering old times.  
  
"Yes, my Lady but I am afraid my services are no longer needed. I shall head back home," Liam said as he turned around and started to walk but was stopped by Cordelia.  
  
"Please don't! You must stay for dinner. Your kindness cannot be overlooked," Cordelia said hoping that Liam wouldn't turn her down.  
  
"I really must head back," Liam said knowing that he wasn't that good of a liar.  
  
"Oh come on! How can you turn down some good old grub?" Cordelia asked.  
  
"Grub?" Liam asked a bit confused. He didn't understand her language at times.  
  
"You know, food. Plus if you turn my invitation down I'll be very pissed off and you don't want to piss of a princess, do you? Come on, it's an order," Cordelia said sternly knowing there was no way she could get turned down now. Liam sighed and then accepted her invitation with courtesy.  
  
"We should go get you changed for dinner," Fred said. Cordelia nodded and followed Fred and motioned for one of the knights standing by the door to show Liam the way. She was glad Fred was there otherwise she wouldn't have known the way to her room. Once they arrived at her room, she walked in and was amazed. It looked like it was taken right out of a movie. It was huge with the biggest bed you have ever seen. Cordelia ran towards the bed and jumped on it. Fred chuckled at the sight. Cordelia looked all around. Now this is getting treated like royalty. She knew she could get used to this.  
  
"Does this look alright for the dinner?" Fred asked as she pulled out a lovely dress.  
  
"Absolutely! I have to look my best to impress! Plus we have a guest and I need to make sure to be in his eye," Cordelia said with a chuckle. Well if she couldn't have him in the present time, maybe she could have him in the past.  
  
"My Lady? What are you talking about? I'm sure the King would disapprove of that? What has gotten into you? This isn't like you at all," Fred said to her.  
  
"The King? As in Wesley Wyndam-Pryce? Why should he care?" Cordelia asked trying to figure out why Wesley would care even if it was a different time, it shouldn't matter but nothing prepared her for Fred's response.   
  
"Well, maybe because you are to be wed with him in a couple of days," Fred said. Cordelia's eyes shot out. What was she talking about? Cordelia marry Wesley. No way!   
  
"Fred, what are you talking about? You know he doesn't like me in that way. He's in love with you," Cordelia said but then regretting it. She remembered that she was in what looked like to be in an alternate universe.  
  
"I'm sorry but I don't understand. Clearly he's in love with you. I know it and so does the rest of the kingdom," Fred said as she was helping Cordelia put on her dress.  
  
"Fred, we need to talk, come on," Cordelia said as she motioned for her to sit next to her on her bed.  
  
"My, lady, are you certain you want me to sit beside you there?" Fred asked. Princess Cordelia was acting far too odd. She didn't understand. She was the most vain person she had ever met and never liked anyone getting close to her. All she cared about was money and having the best of everything.  
  
"Why not? Come on, Fred, I really need to talk to you. Look, I know I might be acting weird or what not," Cordelia said. Fred squinted her eyes but then understood.  
  
"You have been acting strangely," she said scared at the fact that she could read minds.  
  
"Yeah, I thought so but here's the snitch," Cordelia said. She knew it would sound to far fetch for Fred but she had to try. She had to find a way back and she was her best shot.  
  
"The snitch?" she asked a bit confused. There was a snitch? What's a snitch, she asked herself. Her vocabulary was far to much for her to comprehend.  
  
"I'm not who all of you think," Cordelia said to her.  
  
"I knew it! I knew it! You're an impostor!" Fred yelled as she got up.  
  
"No! Not really. I'm me just from a different time," Cordelia said as Fred sat back down.  
  
"A different time?" Fred asked.  
  
"OK, I know this is going to sound way out of whack and it will probably give you the wiggins but it's the truth and I don't want you to think any different of me. I really need to get back home and you're my best shot at getting back there. Like I said I am from a different time. The future to be exact. I guess you can put it that way. Well I was working on a movie and I got the lead part. The movie is pretty much this: medieval times. You know, maids and knights, the whole chivalry thing. Only that for some reason. the movie came into reality. Now all of my friends are in it only none of you seem to remember anything and I'm really getting frustrated!" Cordelia said. She looked at Fred and hoped that she believed it.  
  
"How odd. I always read about those kind of things but I never thought I would actually go through something like that," Fred said.  
  
"So you'll help me get back?" Cordelia asked.  
  
"Most definitely but on one condition," Fred said with a small devilish smile.  
  
"What's that?" Cordelia asked.  
  
"Tell me about Sir Charles," Fred said. Cordelia gave out her award winning smile and told Fred the whole story. She told her about how they were a couple back in LA and all the details. Fred smiled at the thought of Sir Charles and herself being involved.  
  
"So do you believe me?" Cordy asked hoping that she would for she was her only hope.  
  
"Yeah I do. So, you and me, back in LA, we're actually friends?" Fred asked.  
  
"Of course. All of us are. Even Wesley was but he played a nasty card against Liam so he pretty much lost all of our trust," Cordelia said. They continued to talk some more about things in regular from the medieval times. Things that Cordelia would need to know. They also talked about Liam and how she liked him and wanted to get a chance to tell him everything and get him back to her. They also talked about the friendships that they had formed throughout the years.  
  
"Yeah sounds familiar. That's how he was with us but ever since he became king, it's as though he no longer recognizes us. Well we better get downstairs. We got a bit carried away. Don't worry, my Lady. I shall find all I can about the recent discoveries and I will try to fix things up even though I like us talking," Fred said. Cordelia smiled and gave Fred a thank you hug and walked downstairs to the ever beautiful dinning room.   
  
As she walked down all the gentlemen that were seated at the table rose for her. She looked for Angel and then caught a glimpse of him down the table. She headed towards him but then heard Fred clearing her throat. Cordelia turned around and noticed that Fred motioned with her head to go sit next to the king. Cordelia looked over at the King. He looked exactly like Wesley only for some reason a little more confident. She walked over to him and smiled. She remembered that Fred had told her to curtsey in front of the King so she did, not that he deserved it anyways. Cordelia noticed that there was an empty chair next to the king. She knew that the seat was designated for her but she realized that Sir Charles was sitting next to it.  
  
"If I may, my lord, I would like to sit next to my guest. I'm sure Fred would not mind sitting here for me," Cordelia said as she turned around to look at Fred. Cordelia saw her blush but Cordelia knew she wasn't dumb. She wasn't going to say no. She knew better.  
  
"Thank you my Lady," she said and Cordelia walked down towards where Liam was. He got up and pulled out the chair so that Cordelia could sit down. She looked back towards where Wesley was sitting. She could barely even see his face. Good. She wanted to be as far away as possible from him.  
  
"Thank you Liam," she said to him as he returned to his seat.  
  
"My Lady, I don't want you to sit here because you feel you have an obligation towards me," Liam said with such a kind voice that she cherished here and back home.  
  
"It's no obligation. I'm not here just because you saved me. I'm here because I want to," Cordelia said to him. He smiled up at her.  
  
"I don't mean to sound rude but I feel that we have met before somehow. I know I've seen you because you are the Princess but I feel I have talked to you before hand," Liam said. Cordelia looked at him. Maybe somehow his memory was locked up in his mind only it couldn't get out. Cordelia knew she had to tell him but she didn't want to sound obvious. She didn't say anything there because the person who triggered this could be anybody and she didn't want to risk it.  
  
"I probably just have one of those faces," Cordelia said as she reached over for her red wine and took a sip. Liam shook his head in agreeance. The dinner continued as always. Cordelia and Liam continued to talk throughout the meal. She learned so much about him. She learned about his family and all the hard work they put into everything. He reminded her so much of Angel. How she longed for him. She had to figure out a way to tell Liam the truth. She couldn't hold out any longer. Then she thought of something.   
  
"My lord? Are we going to be having dance or masquerade anytime soon?" she asked Wesley.  
  
"Why? Are you in the mood for a get together?" he asked her.  
  
"Of course! Can we have one?" she asked him. She saw him hesitate.  
  
"I suppose. We will be having a jousting tournament tomorrow. We could celebrate that. We could have a contest if you please," Wesley said.  
  
"What will be the prize?" Sir Charles asked.  
  
"Me," Cordelia said. "Whoever the winner is, he gets to be my date for the dance."  
  
"Date?" Wesley asked.  
  
"Yeah, you know, an escort. I mean who could resist me?" Cordelia chuckled as the rest joined her. Fred looked over to her and immediately knew what she was thinking. Cordelia walked over to Wesley.  
  
"Well, alright but only for a little while, otherwise I shall become jealous," Wesley said. Cordelia walked over to Fred and put her hand on her shoulders.  
  
"You will definitely need an escort yourself. You don't think you would be interested in escorting my beloved friend would you?" she asked Sir Charles who was sitting next to Fred. Fred looked down and was blushing.  
  
"It would be my honor," Sir Charles said as he took Fred's hand and kissed it. Cordelia smiled and looked over at Wesley. He seemed very upset that she had set Fred up with Sir Charles. Could it be that he is actually really in love with Fred in this alternate universe as well? Then she saw a young man approach Wesley from behind. She looked up to see his face. It was Connor. She looked over at Liam but knew that he probably had no relation to him here. Connor went up to Wesley and whispered something into his ear. Wesley got up and excused himself from the table. Cordelia looked at them as they left and then returned to her seat. Everyone had finished dinner so people started to get up and leave. Liam got up from his seat.  
  
"I must head back. I don't want to worry my family," he said to her in his Irish accent.  
  
"Well, I guess I can't make you stay any longer but I will see you tomorrow at the tournament, won't I?" Cordelia asked Liam.  
  
"No, my Lady. I am sorry. I gave up jousting years back," he said to her.  
  
"Why?" she asked him. He had to go. He was the reason she insisted on this being done.  
  
"My father was killed at a jousting event. I don't know if I could do it again," Liam said.  
  
"I'm really sorry, but you can't be scared of it forever. Besides, you can't be my escort unless you win and I was kind of hoping that you would be my escort. Plus, from what I've heard, you used to be pretty good. I'll see you tomorrow. Good luck," she said as she left. She knew she did a good job at acting smooth but her hands were shaking. She hoped that he would go. She just hoped she was convincing enough. Fred glanced over at Liam. She walked over to him and made sure to get his attention.  
  
"She's really counting on you being there. If I were you, I wouldn't disappoint her," Fred said hoping to knock some sense into him.  
  
"I'm confused. Isn't she betrothed to the King?" Liam asked.  
  
"Yes she is but she does not love him. Liam, she needs your help and we're the only ones that can help her. Win the jousting event for I know you can do it. I see it in her eyes and I see it in yours. I know you feel for her," Fred said as she left. Liam looked down and then back up. He couldn't participate. He had sworn he would never again mount a horse and hold a lance in his hand but there was something about her. He couldn't explain what he felt. He knew he had met her before yet it was impossible. There were memories deep inside him but they wouldn't come out except for one. He knew it was him and her only they looked different. She was lying down on the bed and had some kind of burns on her face. He was there holding onto her hand. He was wearing clothes that were out of the ordinary. He didn't know why he had that scene painted in his mind but he knew he had to find out.   
  
* * *  
  
"She knows something," Wesley said to Connor.  
  
"How do you know?" Connor asked as he noticed that Wesley was getting nervous.  
  
"She's working against us here. The plan was for me to marry her and kill of Angel but she's aligning against me. She's going to him. She even has Fred with Gunn. I think she knows," Wesley said.  
  
"You can't be certain. She might actually be helping you with the plan without you or her knowing about it," Connor said.  
  
"What do you mean?" Wesley asked not knowing where he was going with that.  
  
"She's trying to bring my father-I mean Angel in. When you kill him, it will be even more painful. Make them fall for each other all over again. Then the pain would be worse when you kill them. Besides, he's human now. He doesn't have the same strength. He can't do half of the things he used to do," Connor said. Wesley smiled. Connor was actually going to be helpful.   
  
"I need you to do something for me," Wesley said to him.  
  
* * *  
Lilah walked back into the studio and noticed that everyone was still in the trance. Something had to be going wrong. They were supposed to be back by now. Wesley said it would only take a day and it was already 3 o'clock in the morning. He better not be messing this up, Lilah told herself. Wesley wasn't going to make a fool of her.  
  
"Well, I guess it isn't working out to nicely for you is it Lilah?" Gavin teased.  
  
"Gavin, shut up. Hand me the spell. I'm going in," she said as she snatched the paper. 


	3. Winning the Heart

Title: Reality Check (part 1)  
  
Author: Angelchica  
  
Email: Angelchica622@hotmail.com  
  
Summary: When Cordelia lands her first starring role in a major production, the set becomes somewhat real and its up to the Fang Gang to figure out a way back from the medieval times, if they can even remember who they are, before trouble ensures. C/A of course and a some F/G. This is part 1 of 2  
  
Spoiler: This takes place after the third season finale. Only Angel resurfaced from the water and Cordelia is also back except they haven't admitted their true feelings to one another. Hopefully this didn't spoil anything!  
  
Disclaimer: No I don't own any of the characters of course anyone in their right mind would not mind owning Angel I mean come on, just look at him!!!  
  
Feedback: Please R & R!!! It's your reviews that push me into writing these stories!!! Let me know how I'm doing and what I should add or take out!!! If you have any ideas at all and want to see them put down in paper and on this site, let me know so I can try my best to make it a story!  
  
**Thank you so much Katie for the idea! Great minds think alike! We started talking about this and all of a sudden everything just fell into place. This idea was awesome and I couldn't have come up with a better idea w/o your help! Thanks for the Latin too!***  
  
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Winning the Heart  
  
All the people of Milan, Italy were present at the jousting event. It was these sort of events that interested all the civilians. They all enjoyed the violence and suspense that came along with the thrill of a good joust. Cordelia, Fred, and Wesley all took their appropriate seats. Cordelia looked around in hopes that she would see Angel. Just then, the trumpets sounded which called forth the beginning of the event. King Wesley stood up.  
  
"Fellow civilians. It is with great pleasure that I present to you this Jousting Event. Only one of you will make it and shall be handsomely rewarded with your future Queen," Wesley said as he held out his hand for Cordelia to take. She got up, smiled, and waved to the audience.  
  
"Let the games begin!" she shouted with excitement. The trumpet sounded again and in no time there were too men mounted on their horses ready to compete. Cordelia watched as they charged towards each other. They were announced to the audience so they knew who they were and could cheer their favorite. The man who held a long shield took out the competitor without mercy. Cordelia flinched when she saw him hit the other man with the lance.  
  
A few more people jousted and still there was no sign of Angel. She started to worry. She wanted him to be there. She had no doubt in her mind that he could win. Sure, he wasn't a vampire here and he didn't have the super strength that he used to but she knew him. With or without his vampiric strength, she knew he could take any of them out.   
  
Cordelia was just about to lose hope when she heard the announcer call out Liam's name. Cordelia smiled. She should have known that he wouldn't have let her down. Angel, or better yet, Liam, mounted his horse and took a firm hold of his lance. Liam stared at his adversary. He waited for the signal and then both men trudged forwards, towards each other. Cordelia stood up and stared closely. Her heart was pounding. She wanted him to take him out.   
  
Wesley looked up at Cordelia and then down to Liam. She liked him. Even though they weren't in LA and they had no recollection of their real lives back home, she was still in love with him. He had to do something. He couldn't make Cordelia's stay a pleasurable one. All of them had to suffer. All of them and at that moment, he swore to get his revenge.  
  
The two men got closer and closer and Cordelia brought her hands to cover her mouth. Then, they hit. Cordelia watched as the lances attacked and then saw one of the lances fall. Cordelia stood like a stone and then she saw the man fall. Liam took off his helmet and gave Cordelia a victorious smile. Cordelia started jumping up and down in excitement. He had won the match. Now she just had to go through with the nerves a few more times before any champion was declared.  
  
"You know, my Lady. Maybe I should have joined the tournament, don't you think?" Wesley asked Cordelia.  
  
"You? Joust? Wesley, I mean, my Lord, jousting is a very serious game," Cordelia said.  
  
"Oh you need not to worry, my Lady. You know I am the best at this talent. I could take all of them out in a split second," King Wesley said. Cordelia glanced at him. She was wondering what he was trying to get at. Then she heard Liam's name get called out again to joust. Here we go again, she thought to herself. Liam took this one out easily. The lance never even touched him. Liam took out the opponent in a split second. Cordelia was happy. After a few more matches, Liam was in the final. It was down to him and another opponent, who like him, had not lost a match. The announcer called out their names and the men prepared to go.  
  
The two men charged towards each other. Cordelia followed Liam with her eyes until they hit. Liam had won but he had not thrown the man off the horse as he had done with the previous adversaries. The men took their positions and readied themselves for round two. Then they charged towards each other. Cordelia watched nervously. This is all he needed to win. Just this and he was hers. Her heart skipped a beat as she saw them hit. One of the men fell but she couldn't tell who it was until it was over. He took off his helmet and sat proud on his horse. Cordelia smiled. He did it. He won. Liam had won the tournament. At the end of the tournament the men took their places to be rewarded with their medals. King Wesley and Princess Cordelia came down to greet the winners. Cordelia wanted to hug Liam so much for his accomplishment but she didn't think it would be proper, especially in the presence of Wesley.  
  
"A job well done, young lads. As you know though, only one of you is fortunate enough to receive an extra prize, and that is my Princess. Take care of her for me," King Wesley said to Liam. He nodded and bowed to the King and then took Cordy's hand and kissed it. He looked back up at her and smiled at her. She looked so beautiful to him.  
  
"It shall by my honor to escort you, my Lady," he said to her.  
  
"And it shall be my honor to be escorted by the young man that won the tournament," Cordelia said as she smiled. King Wesley stepped in and took hold of Cordelia's hand and took her away. Cordelia turned around and looked at Liam as he watched them leave.  
  
"I don't like the way he looks at you," King Wesley said to her annoyed by what was going on. Cordelia looked up at him. He was getting on her nerves and all she wanted was to get away from him. She didn't understand how she had developed a crush on him when she was in high school but that was long in the past and no use thinking about now.  
  
"Well, I don't like the way you treat me. Look let's face this. I don't love you and you don't love me. It's pretty obvious. So why don't we both do ourselves a favor and call it quits. There's no use being together and having to put up with this. It's over. I want to break up," Cordelia said to him then realizing that he wouldn't understand most of her vocabulary but to her surprise he slapped her hard. She put her hand on her cheek.  
  
"Don't you dare talk to me like that Cordelia," Wesley said to her. Cordelia looked up at him. He had called her Cordelia and not Princess. Plus, he didn't seem to be puzzled by her vocabulary. She was going to be like the weak and helpless woman of this time. She looked at him for a while and then slapped him back as hard as she could which made Wesley fall to the ground. The crowd had seen these incidents and all of them shouted out in laughter. Liam was standing from a side and saw all of the actions. He was about to go and defend her but then realized that she had actually been able to take care of herself. She wasn't weak and wasn't afraid to stick up for herself. She was truly what a woman should be. From that moment, he fell in love with her even more.  
  
"Don't you ever lay a finger on me ever again you hear me? Piss me off a second time and I'm going to do a whole lot more than just slap you," Cordelia said as she left. Fred followed her and looked at Cordelia, confused and surprised yet happy for what she did.  
  
"I cannot believe you had the courage to do that my Lady," Fred said to her.  
  
"Please, I don't need courage to do that to Wesley and please I told you, no more of this my Lady stuff. Just Cordelia," she said to her as she held onto her hand that was sore.  
  
"Well, maybe you shouldn't refer to him as just Wesley, he is the king you know," she said to her. She looked at Cordelia and realized something had happened.  
  
"That's just it. He's no King. He's just Wesley Wyndam-Pryce," Cordelia said to her.  
  
"You mean the Wesley from your time?" she asked a bit confused.  
  
"That's exactly what I mean. I have no doubt in my mind that he's the one behind all of this. We have to be careful around him now. There's no telling what he will do," Cordelia said a bit relieved that she knew what was going on but scared that he might be onto her now. She didn't exactly behave the way a Princess would.  
  
"How do you think he did it?" she asked her.  
  
"I don't know but something tells me that he's getting help somehow. Fred I need you to do me a favor. You know the kid that works with Wesley right?" she asked her.  
  
"Right, Connor is his name," Fred said wondering what the favor could be. It's not that she didn't want to do it, it's just that this whole mess that Princess Cordelia was going through was weird and Fred only had her word that it was true and she had to trust her.  
"Yeah. Something tells me he has something to do with this also. You see, back in the real world, he's actually Liam's son and hates him with all his might. Maybe if we can knock some sense into that kid, he might give us a clue as to how to escape this mess," Cordelia said to Fred.  
  
"What do you want me to do?" Fred asked Cordelia.  
  
"I need you to get him for me and send him to my room when we get to the castle."  
  
"Cordelia, it's not that I don't want to do this for you but, don't you think that it's risky? I mean if he's in on the plan as well then he's going to lie to you and maybe go back to the King and tell him that you know what's going on and then the King is going to get infuriated and maybe want to hurt you or those that you love since he is on this revenge spree and then it would all have been a waste of time," Fred said as she was about to start back up again talking.  
  
"Fred, chill girl. You know, you haven't changed a bit. Whether it is 2002 or 1222, you're still the same ole' Fred, but you're right. I'll have to think of something else," Cordelia said with a chuckle.  
  
"Well, I'll keep looking into my books and see if I can find anything. I think I might be onto something but I'm not sure," she said to Cordelia.   
  
Cordelia started to walk slower. She thought they were being followed. She turned around and noticed that Connor was coming up to them.  
  
"I was calling your name out, my Lady but you must not have heard me," Connor said.  
  
"What's wrong?" Cordelia asked Connor hoping that he had not heard their conversation.  
  
"Nothing. The King just wanted to make sure that you got into your carriage safely."   
  
Cordelia looked at him. Fred was right. She couldn't trust him. He might seem all nice and innocent but at the end turn out to be just like Wesley or who knows, maybe even worse and she couldn't have that now. She needed to get away from here and go back into the arms of Angel. She knew she was getting close but not close enough. Cordelia turned away and climbed into the carriage with Fred by her side and rode to the castle.  
  
Connor watched as the carriage rode away and then turned around to see Wesley.  
  
"Well? Did you hear anything?" Wesley asked.  
  
"She knows," he said to him a bit concerned at what could happen. He didn't know how she had figured it out or why she knew about her past. There had to be some glitch but maybe she too remembered everything like he and Wesley did.  
  
"We need to distract her. I wonder if she's had any visions here? Maybe we should remind her of the pain they used to cause her?" Wesley asked.   
  
Connor just looked at him. He didn't exactly want to hurt Cordelia. Out of all of his dad's friends, she was the only one he liked. She was such a nice and beautiful person and was the only one that made him reflect on some things. She had actually cared for him but he knew his dad loved her and he knew they had to hit him where it hurts. And what better weapon than true love?  
  
"I have the spell. We should get to it now. In case she receives a vision and it's too late," Connor said but then his stare went past. Wesley turned around and saw Lilah standing before him. Oh great, he thought to himself, just what I needed.  
  
"Is something wrong?" Lilah asked in her mockery voice of hers.  
  
* * *  
  
"So how do you feel?" Sir Charles asked Liam about him escorting the Princess.  
  
"I'm a bit overwhelmed and nervous. I didn't expect to win the tournament," he said.  
  
"But you did and now you get the best prize any man could ask for," Sir Charles said.  
  
"Yes, but I can't help to wonder why I feel like I have seen her before. I know she is the Princess but I feel like I have interacted with her before. I keep on having some memories flush through my head with her in it only we all look so distinct but I know it's us. I just can't seem to put the puzzle together. By the way, I heard you are escorting Miss Winifred," Liam said to Sir Charles with his charming accent making its presence.  
  
"Yes, I thought that moment would never come," Sir Charles said with a smile.  
  
"Well, you have the Princess to thank for that," Liam said.  
  
"Yes, I know but have you noticed how differently she has been acting. Before it was all about her and getting what she wants. Now it's like she's a different person. She actually cares for the other people and hasn't really thought about herself and did you see how she handled the King? I would have never thought I would see that in my lifetime," he said.  
  
"Yes, isn't she great," Liam said with a smile.  
  
"Don't tell me you've fallen for her? She's going to marry the King. She won't ever think of you in that way. Not that I'm trying to be mean or condemn you but you're not of her league. She's royalty, a Princess, and you're just a commoner. But don't get me wrong, go for it," he said in a smile. Liam looked back up at him and smiled. Sir Charles was his only true friend and the only one he trusted.   
  
* * *  
  
Cordelia sat next to Wesley. She sat there waiting for Liam to show up. She looked over to the dance floor and noticed Fred and Gunn dancing. They looked so cute together.  
  
"Aren't we a bit anxious to see that peasant," Wesley said to her annoyed.  
  
"Yes I am. He's what gets me away from you," Cordelia said to him. Then she saw a woman walk up to where they were. She was tall and had brown hair and walked professionally. Cordelia looked at her face and recognized her as Lilah.  
  
"My Lord, if it is alright with you, may I have the honor of dancing with you?" she asked.  
  
"Most definitely," he said to her. He got up and then turn back to Cordelia. "I guess I'm the one that got away from you first," he snickered.  
  
"Oh no! Look at me trembling from all my jealousy," Cordelia said back. She wasn't afraid of him and she wasn't about to let him think he had her where he wanted. Then she heard someone clear their voice. She turned and saw Liam. He looked absolutely gorgeous and handsome. She remembered the time when they went to the opera and he had worn a tux.   
  
"My Lady, I hope I haven't kept you waiting too long," he said to her as he extended his hand to her. Cordelia smiled and took it. They went out to the dance floor and engaged in a dance that was appropriate to the medieval times. Cordelia didn't know the steps but after a while she caught onto them. She made sure that she was as far away as possible from Wesley. She didn't want to be around him. He had become so obnoxious.  
  
"Liam, I need to talk to you. Do you think we could go to an empty hall?" she asked him.  
  
"Of course," he said as she led him over to one. She made sure that nobody was around.  
  
"I need your help. I know what I'm about to tell you will probably not make sense and you'll probably think I'm completely whack, that is if you don't already think that but I promise you everything I say is true and you're my last hope," Cordelia said to him.  
  
"Well, what is it?" Liam asked but then he noticed that Cordelia's expression changed.  
  
"Oh no," she whispered as she held onto her head and endured the pain. She couldn't hold herself up and gave way but Liam caught her before she fell. She was sitting on the ground enduring some pain he could not understand but all he knew was that he couldn't stand seeing her like that. She seemed to be in more pain than she could handle.  
  
Cordelia held on to her head. Why was her vision being so painful? They weren't supposed to be like that anymore. She held on as she watched the vision pass through her mind. She saw Angel or Liam whoever it was, fighting against Wesley in a swordfight to the death. Then the vision slowly faded away and Cordelia opened her eyes. A few tears streamed down her face from the pain she had endured and from what the vision had made her seen.  
  
"My Lady? Are you alright?" he asked her. He noticed that some tears were streaming down her face. He only hoped that it wasn't from the pain.  
  
"Can you get me some water please?" she asked him. He agreed but first he helped her up and then it hit him. This was familiar. He had done this before. Then a memory went through his mind. He remembered seeing Cordelia on the floor and he was helping up. She was weak and had just gone through something similar to what had happened now. He helped her up and she looked up at him and muttered that she was fine and that he had to go look for some key with a hole in it. He shook the memory away and realized that Cordelia was waiting for her water. He left her there and looked back to make sure she was OK. He saw her holding on to her head.   
  
He walked over to the table and poured some water into a glass. Wesley was still dancing with Lilah and noticed Liam getting the water. He couldn't see where Cordelia was but he only guessed that she had had a vision. He smiled.  
  
"What are you grinning about?" Lilah asked Wesley.  
  
"I think the spell worked," Wesley said. Lilah looked at him and smiled. Little by little, their revenge was coming true.  
  
Liam went back and handed Cordelia the water. She thanked him and he just stood there and looked at her. He wanted to make sure that she was alright.  
  
"My Love, are you sure you're alright?" he asked her. Cordelia could tell he was worried. Wait, did he just call her his love?  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine. It'll pass, they always do," she said as she sipped the water.  
  
"You mean this has happened before?" he asked her hoping that maybe she could make some sense from his memory.  
  
"Yes. Liam, I need to tell you something. Don't say anything until I finish. I don't know if you will believe me but try," she said. Liam nodded and then listened to her story. She told him about how they were all actually from LA and about him being a vampire, Connor being his son, her visions, everything. She didn't leave anything out. She finished telling her story and then took a deep breath.  
  
"Well? What do you think? Do I sound like a nut?" she asked him.  
  
"A nut? Nuts don't make noise except when they are eaten," Liam said. Cordelia laughed. How cute!  
  
"No, I meant do I sound crazy?" she asked him.  
  
"Well I'm not going to lie to you. A lot of the things you mentioned sound far fetched but I believe you," he said to her. Cordelia looked up at him and couldn't believe it.  
  
"You do?" she asked still confused that he would believe her so soon and not hesitate.  
  
"Well, I have a confession to make. Before yesterday, I could have sworn to you that I had met you before, that I had some connection with you. I also have recurring memories of us," he said hoping not to scare her off.  
  
"What do you see?" she asked trying to piece things together.  
  
"I see what happened today. I see you going through a painful vision and I help you out. I've seen it over and over. Not the same one but of other times. They always take a lot out of you. These memories I have are not of this world either. We are dressed in clothes not of this world. I'm dressed in black shiny material and you..."  
  
"And me what?" she asked, curious to know what he thought of her.  
  
"It might sound odd to you," he said getting a bit embarrassed.  
  
"Trust me, I won't. Tell me," she said knowing where this was going.  
  
"Well you are dressed in pants. They are blue and really tight as is the shirt which sometimes shows a little more than would be accepted here," he said trying to sound nice and not like a pervert. Cordelia laughed.   
  
"Don't worry. It's the fashion. It's what people wear in my time," she said. Liam was beginning to understand. Cordelia started to get up and Liam helped her up. Together they walked. She was still weak and she didn't think she would make it up to her room by herself. Fred was dancing with Sir Charles and noticed them. She motioned for Sir Charles to come with her.  
  
"Cordy, what happened?" she asked her. She noticed Liam as well.  
  
"Don't worry about it. I just need to go to my room and lie down for a bit," she said.  
  
"I can take you," she said as she went over to Cordelia. Liam stayed with Sir Charles. The rest of the party continued but Liam retreated back to his home. Wesley stopped dancing with Lilah and just left her there and walked up to Sir Charles.  
  
"You are my most trustworthy knight and I can ask this favor from only you," King Wesley said to Sir Charles.  
  
"My Lord, I will comply with what you ask me," he said.  
  
"I need you to execute the peasant, Liam, tonight. Bring him in as a prisoner," King Wesley said.  
  
"But my Lord, he is my good friend. What harm has he done to you?" Sir Charles asked.  
  
"He has done nothing to me but has to people I love. He hurt my Princess. Did you not see how weak she looked," the King said to him.  
  
"He did not do that to her, my King," Sir Charles said.  
  
"If you do not follow my orders I will personally execute you and that girl of yours. Mark my words. Is that understood." King Wesley said to him.   
  
Sir Charles only looked back to him. He couldn't do that. Liam was the closest thing he had to a friend but he had fallen for Miss Winifred and he didn't want to get her killed. Maybe if he just brought him in as a prisoner he could somehow figure out a way to get him out. Either way he knew he wouldn't win. He would lose something he treasured.  
  
"Yes, my Lord," Sir Charles said. Wesley smiled victoriously and then walked back to Lilah. Sir Charles noticed that he whispered something into her ears and then saw her smile. Sir Charles lowered his head and then went outside, got some men together and headed towards Liam's house. He didn't want to betray his friend but he had no choice. 


	4. Cruel Intentions

Title: Reality Check (part 1)  
  
Author: Angelchica  
  
Email: Angelchica622@hotmail.com  
  
Summary: When Cordelia lands her first starring role in a major production, the set becomes somewhat real and its up to the Fang Gang to figure out a way back from the medieval times, if they can even remember who they are, before trouble ensures. C/A of course and a some F/G. This is part 1 of 2  
  
Spoiler: This takes place after the third season finale. Only Angel resurfaced from the water and Cordelia is also back except they haven't admitted their true feelings to one another. Hopefully this didn't spoil anything!  
  
Disclaimer: No I don't own any of the characters of course anyone in their right mind would not mind owning Angel I mean come on, just look at him!!!  
  
Feedback: Please R & R!!! It's your reviews that push me into writing these stories!!! Let me know how I'm doing and what I should add or take out!!! If you have any ideas at all and want to see them put down in paper and on this site, let me know so I can try my best to make it a story!  
  
**Thank you so much Katie for the idea! Great minds think alike! We started talking about this and all of a sudden everything just fell into place. This idea was awesome and I couldn't have come up with a better idea w/o your help! Thanks for the Latin too!***  
  
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Cruel Intentions  
  
"So that was a vision? What did you see?" Fred asked Cordelia as they lounged in her room. Cordelia was still feeling a bit weak from the vision she had received earlier.  
  
"I saw Liam. He was fighting against Wesley in a match until death," Cordelia said. She was nervous about that. She didn't want to lost him. She loved him and she wouldn't be able to bear it. Then something came to her mind. The director of the movie came into her mind. He always wore the black turtlenect with sunglasses and cap. She knew he had reminded her of someone and now she knew who he was. Even his name resemled it. William Priceton was in fact Wesley. "So have you found anything yet on how to reverse this?" Cordelia asked hoping that she had had enought time to figure something out.   
"Not yet but I'm almost there. I have to translate the language but I'm there. It has to do with trances which is what I think might be at play here," Fred said to her.  
  
"Well get to it. We don't have much time," Cordelia said as she started to panic.  
  
* * *  
  
Liam heard some knocking at his door. It was late and he wondered who it was. He finished tucking his sister in and then went over to the door. He opened it and Sir Charles was there. He didn't know what the occasion was for his visit so it seemed odd to him.  
  
"Charles, what are you doing here at this late hour? Did you forget something?" Liam asked him. Sir Charles walked in front of him and Liam noticed he wasn't alone.  
  
"Grab him," Sir Charles muttered. The other knights entered the home and grabbed Liam. He struggled to break free from their grip but there were too many of them.  
  
"What's the meaning of this?" Liam asked Sir Charles.  
  
"Put him in the carriage," Sir Charles paused a moment and then spoke out again, "I'm sorry," he said to Liam who was still trying to break free.  
  
* * *  
  
"I've got it!" Fred yelled as she ran into Cordelia's room. Cordelia got up. Finally! She just hoped there wasn't like a major catch to any of this like there tended to be.  
  
"Well?" she asked. She knew she could count on Fred to figure things out. She just had a way of getting to the bottom of things easily and Cordy admired that from her.  
  
"You're not going to like it," Fred said to her scared at what her reaction would be.  
  
"Fred, please, we don't have much time left. I need to know how to reverse this before any of this gets out of hand. Remember? Fight to the death?" Cordelia said.  
  
"Right, sorry. Well it says that well, the only way to get back is to shed blood," she said.  
  
"Oh, that's not to bad. Just give me a knife and it will all be taken care of," Cordy said.  
  
"It's not that simple. Shedding of blood means death. People who were in what you called the movie, those people have to shed the blood and die. It doesn't say how many have to die but I'm sure it's going to be a great number and I don't think the people would just agree to the terms," she said. Cordy looked at Fred. She didn't like this. The people that were the civilians in the movie back in LA are the civilians of this time. If they were killed here then they would surely be dead back home. Just then Connor walked into the room. Cordelia looked over to him. She didn't like him being there. She knew he had something to do with this as well and knew she had to stay away from them as much as possible. She couldn't jeopardize it.  
  
"My Lord sent me up to check on you. Are you ladies alright?" Connor asked.  
  
"We're fine, now go away," Cordelia ordered. Connor left the room. Cordelia just stared off. Something was going on. Wesley was planning something and she didn't like it.  
  
"Come on Fred. We need to go look for Wesley," she said as she pulled Fred's hand.  
  
* * *  
  
Liam looked out from the cell he was in. They had brought him down to the dungeon for something he didn't know. He wondered what it could have been and then thought about Cordelia. What if she had done all this to trap him? What if the King was jealous and decided to get rid of him? What if it had been Cordelia who sent him to the dungeon. All this began to play in his mind. He didn't know what he had gotten himself into and he only feared the worse. King Wesley made his way towards Liam and stared at him.  
  
"You have no idea what you have gotten yourself into. What makes you think that you can defy all the rules and somehow still win?" Wesley asked. Liam didn't understand.  
  
"What are you talking about?" Liam asked. The King ordered for the knights to open the cell. He motioned for them to leave and for Connor and Lilah to stay. Liam staye in the cell. He didn't know what the King had up his sleeve and didn't want to know. Connor lit a candle and held something over the burning candle. Then Wesley began to chant in Latin. Liam looked at him not knowing what to do.  
  
"Invoca!" Wesley yelled. Something went through Liam. He couldn't explain it. All he felt was pain. He fell to the ground and tried to fight against it until it took complete control of him and then he lay motionless on the ground.  
  
"Do you think the trance worked?" Lilah asked just as Cordelia and Fred arrived.  
  
"What have you done!" Cordelia yelled as she went over to Liam but was held back by Connor. Cordelia struggled to break free but couldn't. The vision had taken so much out of her so she hadn't regained her strength just yet. Then Liam raised his head. He got up and walked towards Wesley. He motioned over to Cordelia. Connor let go of her.  
  
"What is going on?" she asked. Then Liam walked towards her. He grabbed her by the arms and held on to her with his strong grip. His grip was much stronger than before.   
  
"Liam, you're hurting me," Cordelia said. She looked up at his face and then was horrified. It was his game face. He was a vampire. Had they brought Angelus back? She fought to get lose and finally managed to. She ran up the stairs and she knew he was right behind her. She turned into one corridor into the next, trying to open all the doors until she found one that led outside. She ran until she came up to the woods. She turned around and noticed she was alone. She didn't trust it so she decided to run some more but right when she turned around there he was. Cordelia screamed.  
  
"Angel, please. It's me. It's Cordelia! You've got to come out of this. They have you under some trance! You can break free! You're strong! I know you can do this!" she yelled out but then he reached out and slapped her so hard that it sent her to the ground.  
  
"Angel, no, please. I know that you're in there somewhere. Remember the times we've had together. All those battles we fought together. All those times you saved me," Cordelia said as Angel kicked her stomach. Pain surged through her whole body.  
  
"It won't work. The trance is too strong. No one has been able to break free from it," Wesley said with a snicker. He knew he was going to succeed. It was too powerful.  
  
"Angel, remember your son. How you adored him. How we took care of him. Remember when you were by my side when Lilah sent me visions that scarred me. Remember all the times you were there for me to take care of me. All the times we talked about things you never thought you would let anyone else in on," Cordelia said. Angel kicked her again. He had no control over it. The trance powered everything in him. He grabbed a giant rock and held it above Cordelia's head.  
  
"Angel, please don't do this. Angel, I love you," Cordelia said to him. Angel was about to bring down the rock when something in him surged out. He dropped to the ground and a red mist came out of him. He started coughing and then looked up and then at Cordelia who was lying on the ground.   
  
"Oh my gosh. Cordelia!" he yelled out. She had passed out from the pain that he had caused her. How could I have done this, he asked himself. Then he looked up at Wesley and Connor. He put on his game face and headed towards Wesley and tried to strangle him. Connor and Lilah were trying to hold him back.  
  
"How could you do this? First you take my son and now you almost make me kill Cordelia! I can kill you right now!" he yelled out to him. Wesley was having trouble breathing. Connor saw the rock Angel was holding before and grabbed it and threw it at Angel.   
  
Angel felt the pain hit him and he let go of Wesley. He dropped to the ground and shook his head. He looked back up and saw that Wesley and the rest were running back to the castle. He wanted to run back and kill Wesley but he didn't. He went over to where Cordelia was. He couldn't believe he had done this to her. He picked her up and carried her to his home.  
  
* * *  
Cordelia woke up and squinted due to the lights. Then she saw him. She was hoping that it wasn't some kind of dream. It looked like it was too good to be true.  
"Is it really you?" Cordelia asked him, not sure if it was Angel or Liam.  
  
"It's really me. It's Angel," he said. Cordelia got so happy. She got up too quickly and felt all the pain go through her body. "Don't get up. I'm right here," he said to her.  
  
"I'm so glad it's you. I thought I wouldn't get to see you again," Cordelia said to him.  
  
"I'm so sorry I did this to you. I didn't know I was capable of it," Angel said.  
  
"It's not your fault. You were under a trance. It's kinda impossible to back out of those things but yet somehow you did and I'm thankful for that," Cordelia said.  
  
"Cordelia, what you said before, did you mean it?" he asked her. Cordelia's heart started racing. He remembered? Why is it they always remember the embarassing things, she thought to herself. She knew there was no way out of it, that she had to tell him the truth.  
  
"Yes, with all my heart and I understand if you don't because-"  
  
"I love you too," Angel said. Cordelia looked up at him and smiled. He bent down and gave her a kiss. The one they had been waiting for. She looked up at him and smiled. They heard someone knocking at their door. Angel got up and went over to open the door. He opened it and Sir Charles was there with Miss Winifred.  
  
"Liam, I am so sorry about what I did to you. He was playing a trick on me. If there's any way I can make it up to you let me know. I really am sorry," Sir Charles said.  
  
"No, I understand. Wesley has a strong power. Cordelia's in the room," he said to Fred.  
  
"Well, I have some bad news for you. He sent me here to tell you something. He's challenging you to a joust and fight to the death and there's no way you can back out of it. He says either you show up or you give the Princess in. He didn't sound to happy."  
  
"No!" Cordelia yelled as she tried to walk out towards Angel but was to weak and fell but was caught in Angel's arms. She looked up at him.  
  
"Cordelia, you shouldn't be up. You're in no condition-"  
  
"Angel, don't change the subject on me! You can't fight him! You can't! Please don't! Turn me in instead. Don't do this Angel, please. I had a vision of you. You can't go!"  
  
"Angel? Why did you call him Angel?" Sir Charles asked Cordelia.  
  
"Don't worry, I'll fill you in. It's a long story," Fred said to him. Cordelia looked up at Angel but she knew he was just as stubborn as she was. He carried her to the bed and layed her down. He looked into her eyes and smiled. This was the woman he loved. He knew he had to do this but he knew he would make it to see her again. He was happy that they were finally together. All this time and they finally admitted their feelings.   
  
"I have to do this now before the sun rises. I'll be back to get you," Angel said as he left the room. He grabbed a sword and walked out into the dark early morning. Cordelia sat up even though it hurt her so much. A few tears streamed down her face. She didn't have a good feeling about this. She knew this pain wasn't going to be anything compared to what she was going to feel when he got killed. She got up again but then she heard a noise from the back door. She turned around and saw Wesley, Connor, and Lilah.  
  
"It's a trick!" Cordelia yelled out but then Wesley grabbed her and put his had over her mouth so she couldn't talk. Her whole body ached and Wesley was forcing her to move and she could barely manage to do so. Sir Charles and Fred ran into the room.  
  
"Let her go!" Sir Charles said as he pulled out his sword and motioned for Fred to stand behind him, out of harms way. Wesley had a huge grin on his face and motioned for Connor to go. Connor took out his sword and lunged towards Sir Charles. Cordelia knew that Sir Charles wasn't going to be able to get her out of this. Lilah went over to Fred and grabbed her by the wrists. Lilah looked at her and then smiled.  
  
"Well aren't you just a cute thing?" she said sarcastically and then punched her in the face. Lilah sent Fred to the ground lying motionless. Wesley moved forward and out of Liam's house and dragged Cordelia with him. They walked up to the carriage and then waited a while. Then Connor came out of the house and ran into the carriage which headed towards the castle. Cordelia tried to fight her way out of Wesley's grip but she couldn't. She felt too weak and knew there was nothing to do but hope for the best.  
  
"I didn't know you could joust," Lilah said to Wesley.  
  
"I don't," he replied. Lilah looked at him confused. How was he going to win?  
  
"Well, don't you think you should at least practice? Angel is a pretty good jouster."  
  
"I don't need to practice. It's going to be sunlight soon. I'll let the sun take care of him for me since it affects him now and I won't even break a sweat," Wesley said.   
  
* * *  
  
Angel waited outside in front of the castle. There were a good number of civilians outside the castle walls. They must have heard about the match and they couldn't miss the spectacle. Angel heard a trotting up ahead and noticed that it was Gunn, or as he was known here, Sir Charles. He came up to Angel and got off of his horse. Angel noticed that he was badly bruised and bleeding. Angel knew something had backfired.  
  
"What happened? Where's Cordelia?" he asked Sir Charles.  
  
"He took her. It was a trick and we all fell for it. The only reason why I made it here before he did is because I took the short cuts. He's going to try to use her against you. Be careful with what you do. Think every step carefully," Sir Charles said.  
  
"Don't worry. I know what I have to do," Angel said as he pulled out his sword. The carriage that carried the King arrived. Angel looked up at the sky and noticed that the sun would be rising soon. Hopefully he could finish this before the day finished him off. Wesley stepped out of the cage and pulled Cordelia out with him. Angel started to walk towards them. How dare he treat her like that, he thought to himself. He only could get so close until Wesley called the guards on him.  
  
"Don't get any closer or I'll kill her," Wesley said to him. Cordelia looked up at Angel. She looked so tired, worn out, and in pain. Angel didn't care. He went through the guards. He didn't even have to try. He had regained his natural strength and the fact that he was furious made him even more stronger. He went up to Wesley and punched him. Cordelia took that moment to wriggle out of his grip and into Angel's arms. Angel kissed her forehead, happy that she was back with him. Angel looked at Wesley with hatred.  
  
"Let's finish this," Angel said as he headed towards the back where his suit and lance were. He knew he wouldn't be able to leave alive if he didn't compete and he had no intention of giving Wesley that satisfaction. He went into the barn where he kept his belongings and started to put on the armor. Cordelia looked out the window and saw the sun's rays shooting across the sky. Angel wasn't going to be able to complete. He would be dead before he reached his horse. Cordelia went up to Angel and took his helmet.  
  
"What are you doing, Cordelia?" he asked her as he still tried to put on his suit.  
  
"You can't go out there and compete," Cordelia said as she put on the helmet.  
  
"Why not?" he asked her. He didn't need this right now and especially not from her.  
  
"Did you forget that if you go out into the sunlight, you'll make an ashy dinner for someone?" Cordelia asked sarcastically as she eyed a shovel in the corner and walked towards it making sure Angel didn't know what she had planned.  
  
"You can't go out there Cordelia. You are hurt and you don't know how to joust," Angel said as he followed her. Cordelia turned around in front of the shovel and slowly got it behind her back without him noticing.  
  
"I know the jist of it. Get the lance. Ride the horse and when the other man gets close, plunge this thing into him. I think I can manage," Cordelia said with a smile.   
  
"Cordy, I'm not going to let you go," Angel said to her as he got closer to her.  
  
"I didn't think you would. I love you Angel and I'm not going to let you go out there and die. I'm sorry," she said to him. Angel was confused.  
  
"What are you sorry for?" he asked her. Cordelia held her breath and then exhaled.  
  
"For this!" she yelled as she brought the shovel and hit him over the head. Angel fell to the ground unconscious. She didn't want to hit him but she knew it was her best shot. He would end up with a splitting headache but at least he wasn't dead. He would just have to thank her sometime if she made it through. Cordelia bent down and took the armor suit off of Angel. She put it on herself and then grabbed the lance. As soon as she picked it up, it fell right back down. It was a lot heavier than she thought. She turned around and looked at Angel. She went over to him and ran her fingers through his hair. She looked into his closed eyes and then kissed his forehead and smiled at him.  
  
"I'm going to win this for the both of us. I won't let you down," she said as she gathered all her strength and went for the lance and this time held it up high and proud and went out the door. She saw the horse and mounted it and headed towards the crowd. Cordelia stopped as she saw Wesley in front of her, waiting for her, or better yet, waiting for Angel. Cordelia looked up at the sky. She knew she wasn't going to be able to fool Wesley for long but she needed every second she could possibly get. Wesley turned the horse around and Cordelia followed him. She noticed that Sir Charles and Fred were there right next to her calling out Angel's name. Cordelia didn't turn to look at them until she remembered that they thought she was Angel. She looked down at them.  
  
"Good luck!" Sir Charles said to her as Fred waved her hand out to her.  
  
"Thanks!" Cordelia said in her girly voice and then regretted it.  
  
"Cordelia?" Fred called out to her. Cordelia kicked the horse to go faster and catch up to Wesley. They arrived at the stadium and they took their post. The crowd had grown in minutes and there was chaos going on everywhere. Cordelia took a breath. Jousting had never been an interest to her. She practically didn't even know what it was until now. Her heart was pounding. She was getting nervous and hoped she wouldn't let Angel down. She had to do this. She looked at all the people in the stands. They were all of the extras that had been hired to work in the movie that Cordelia was in. She still hadn't figured out a loop hole. She didn't want to risk their lives just to save her own. The sound of the trumpet disrupted Cordelia's thoughts and she looked straight ahead at Wesley. She remembered when Wesley and Lilah had talked and he had mentioned that he didn't know how to joust. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad, Cordelia thought to herself. Cordelia looked around in the stands and she saw Sir Charles and Fred. Then she noticed that someone was standing next to them in the shadows. It was Angel. She knew he was going to be very mad with her but she could deal with that later.   
  
The announcer finished his speech and the game was about to begin. Cordelia gripped the lance as firm as she could. Then Cordelia remembered when she had seen the movie, A Knight's Tale. Of course, the only reason why she had seen it was because of Heath Ledger but now when she thought about it she recalled how they talked about his focus always remaining on the target. That focus is what usually granted him the win. Cordelia smiled. She knew that in the end solely watching the hot guys in the movie would in fact pay off.   
  
The countdown began in her mind and then the signal was made. Cordelia and Wesley trotted towards each other. Cordelia leveled the lance and had it pointed at Wesley. Her gaze never left his. She knew that Wesley was nervous as well. She could tell that his lance was shaking. They neared each other and then they hit. Cordelia hung on to the horse with all her might. She stopped the horse and noticed that she was still on it. She turned around and noticed that Wesley had fallen off the horse. He hadn't even touched her. She raised her arms up and then turned to look at Angel and then pointed to him so he knew that she could do this.  
  
Wesley got back on his horse. He looked up at the sky and saw that it was pure daylight. Why wasn't Angel burning up into ashes, he asked himself. He turned to the stands and noticed Sir Charles and Fred. He then saw Angel, standing in the shadow that was cast. Wesley turned and stared at his adversary. He knew who it was right there. He was about to say something when then another thought came across him. He knew she was already hurt. All he had to do was aim for the pain. Wesley snickered at the thought.  
  
Cordelia got into position. She knew she had knocked the wind out of Wesley and she couldn't wait to tell him it was her who had done the deed. She focused herself on Wesley again and got ready for the signal. She was going to win and she knew it. She looked up at the sky and noticed that it was getting overcast. The clouds had rolled in. The sun was being blocked by the clouds. She could hear the thunder nearby and could see the flashes of lightning. She could feel some sprinkles coming down. She was getting impatient as she saw Angel running towards him. Cordelia looked at the announcer. Hurry up, she told herself.   
  
Finally he gave the signal. Cordelia and Wesley headed towards each other again. Cordelia passed Angel and she could just hear him calling out her name. Cordelia focused her stare and positioned the lance same as she had done before. She noticed that Wesley didn't have a good target with the lance. Maybe he was giving up before she ended up killing him but he didn't seem to be backing off. Cordelia and Wesley were closing up on each other and then they hit. Something hit Cordelia from the side, right where Angel had kicked her before. She had hit Wesley as well but she didn't get a chance to see. She felt so much pain. She was trying to hold on but she couldn't. Cordelia fell off of the horse and just kept still and she held on to her side. She felt something was there but she hadn't open her eyes since they had hit. Angel ran to her.  
  
"It's going to be OK, Cordelia. Just hold on," he said to her as he took off her helmet carefully and then placed her head gently down on the ground. He started to unbuckle the the armor and then took it off. He noticed that there was a piece of Wesley's lance that had gone through her side. He could only imagine how painful it was.  
  
"What happened?" she asked him in a quiet whisper. She didn't know what was going on. All she knew was this sharp pain that would not go away. A pain that seemed to be taking an even greater toll as every second passed.  
  
"Shh, don't worry. Don't say anything," Angel said as he looked into Cordelia's eyes.  
  
"I'm so cold," she said to him as she trembled. Angel took off his jacket. Before he could place it on her she called out to him. "Pull it out." Angel knew what she was refering to but he couldn't bring himself to cause her anymore pain. He hesitated but he knew that in the long run it would help. He put his grip on the piece of the lance and pulled it out. Cordelia screamed from the pain and Angel couldn't bare the fact that it was his fault this had happened. He held his hand where her wound was.  
  
"You're going to be OK, Cordelia. I promise," Angel soothed the words out.  
  
"I should really think about getting manicures before I joust. You know how painful it is when press ons get ripped off?" she asked. She whispered the words out. She was trying to catch her breath every chance she got. Angel looked at her. Even when she was badly hurt, she was still trying to make everyone feel better and cracking jokes. Just then Angel's head rose. Wesley had done this to her. Angel looked back down at Cordelia and kissed her. Cordelia knew what he was going to do but she didn't have enough breath and energy to stop him.  
  
"Sir Charles, stay with her," Angel ordered as he went over towards Wesley who wasn't too far away. He ran up to him and punched him hard in the face. Wesley shook his head and tried to clear his vision but he got punched again. Angel pulled out his sword. Wesley looked at him and did the same. The two engaged in a sword fight. They were matching each other's moves, none being able to over pass the other.  
  
"I never thought you had this in you," Angel said to Wesley as his focus remained on Wesley's sword.   
  
"Well, I have you to thank. You made me realize that I am needed elsewhere but I guess this worked out just fine. Now you get to watch your love die, that is if I don't kill you first," Wesley said. Angel was infuriated. He plunged towards Wesley and brought the sword across his arm. It cut Wesley but it didn't slow him down. They continued to fight when Angel heard a familiar voice calling out to him.  
  
"Dad!" Connor yelled out as he ran towards them. Angel couldn't believe it was him.  
  
"Connor?" Angel called out but at that moment Wesley brought the sword across Angel's back. Angel squinted at the pain. It had been a diversion. Angel should have known better than to have let his own son get the best of him. Angel fell to the ground in pain. He couldn't lose. He couldn't die. Not like this. Not when Cordelia was counting on him. Angel looked up at Wesley and saw that the sword was pointed at Angel's neck. Angel looked over to where Cordelia was lying. He could tell she was having trouble breathing. He looked at the people start to come down the stands. They were heading towards him. They were cheering on the King to kill him. Angel knew that if Wesley didn't do the deed, they would. Then he noticed some of them stopped and others fell back with them. He noticed how the crowd was looking at Cordelia in awe. They looked over at Angel and then at the King. Some of the civilians started running towards them.  
  
"The King tried to kill the Princess. Kill the King!" the crowd roared as they all charged towards them. Wesley dropped the sword and ran towards the castle.   
  
"Faithful knights! Charge!" Wesley shouted to his knights and pointed towards the crowd. Wesley knew that his knights would not disappoint him. The knights charged towards the crowd. They engaged in a battle. Angel remembered the scene that was in the movie. It was this scene. This is what they had rehearsed. Angel went over to Cordelia who was clinging on to life. She looked around and noticed the fight. She saw knights and citizens falling to the ground, dead. She looked at the sky and noticed that it was changing back. She looked up at Angel and motioned for him to look up. He looked at the sky and saw the same thing. The trance must be breaking as the people died.  
  
"We're going to make this. You'll see," Angel said as he laid Cordelia's head on his lap.  
  
"It got really cold," Cordelia said softly to him. Angel carefully tried to cradle Cordelia in his arms, trying to provide the heat he knew he couldn't give off. He noticed that down the road, there was an exit to the real world. He knew that was their ticket out of the trance. He picked up into his arms and started towards the exit. Angel turned and saw that Sir Charles and Fred rode off on the horse, in order to escape the massacre. Angel looked over to where Wesley was running towards. He probably wouldn't make it out of there. He looked for his son but there was no sight of him anywhere. Angel lowered his head and then continued to walk until he reached the exit and went through. 


	5. Broken

Title: Reality Check (part 1)  
  
Author: Angelchica  
  
Email: Angelchica622@hotmail.com  
  
Summary: When Cordelia lands her first starring role in a major production, the set becomes somewhat real and its up to the Fang Gang to figure out a way back from the medieval times, if they can even remember who they are, before trouble ensures. C/A of course and a some F/G. This is part 1 of 2  
  
Spoiler: This takes place after the third season finale. Only Angel resurfaced from the water and Cordelia is also back except they haven't admitted their true feelings to one another. Hopefully this didn't spoil anything!  
  
Disclaimer: No I don't own any of the characters of course anyone in their right mind would not mind owning Angel I mean come on, just look at him!!!  
  
Feedback: Please R & R!!! It's your reviews that push me into writing these stories!!! Let me know how I'm doing and what I should add or take out!!! If you have any ideas at all and want to see them put down in paper and on this site, let me know so I can try my best to make it a story!  
  
**Thank you so much Katie for the idea! Great minds think alike! We started talking about this and all of a sudden everything just fell into place. This idea was awesome and I couldn't have come up with a better idea w/o your help! Thanks for the Latin too!***  
  
************************************************************************  
  
Broken  
  
Angel woke up and looked around. There were some people that were waking up and some that were walking around and trying to get out of the studio. He noticed that some people were lying on the ground with pools of blood right next to them. Angel got up and looked for Cordelia. He needed to find her. He tried to remember where he had last seen her but she wasn't there. He remembered when Wesley had gone into the back of the room and decided to run in there. He noticed that there was a pentagram drawn in the middle of the room and there were candles burning. Angel grabbed a nearby axe and started to break apart the room. He made sure that the pentagram could not be used again. He also noticed that in the middle of the pentagram was some kind of offering or what not they had made in order to conjure the trance. He went to it and smashed it with his axe. He dropped the axe and was about to leave the room but then he felt someone touch his shoulder. He turned around and looked straight into Connor. He wished that he could have the guts to just kill him on the spot. He knew he couldn't since he was his son but he didn't want to leave what they had done to Cordelia unnoticed but he knew Cordelia was more important than anything else right now. He shrugged off Connor's hand. He loved his son with all his heart but it hurt him to think that Connor had to do with this whole mess. Did Connor really hate him that much?  
  
"Don't touch me. Where is she?" Angel shouted.  
  
"Did you find her. What happen? Did Wesley kill her?" Connor asked. Angel went over to Connor and grabbed him by the shoulders.  
  
"I swear Connor. If Cordelia dies, I will personally kill Lilah and Wesley and I won't hesitate. How could you have done this? She didn't do anything to you. If anything, you should have tried to kill me. She's innocent. All she ever offered you was her love and this is how you repay her?" Angel asked as he let go of Connor's shoulders.   
  
"Look I just wanted to say that I'm sorry. I never meant for anything to happen to Cordelia. Out of everyone I liked her the best. I tried to talk Wesley out of it but there was no changing his mind. Lilah has strong power over him only he doesn't realize it. I really am sorry, father," Connor said.  
  
"Don't give me this crap just so that you can use me like you did before. If you ever try to harm or hurt Cordelia or anyone else I love, I don't know what I would do but just know it won't be pretty. Even if you are my son, hurting the people I love is not acceptable," Angel said as he started to walk off but was stopped by Connor's words.  
  
"I don't doubt it. You killed my dad. Why wouldn't you kill your own son," he said as he walked away. He had to find Cordelia before it was too late. He continued to walk and noticed Wesley sneaking off towards an exit. He wished that he hadn't made it alive. He had hoped he wouldn't have had to kill him because the other people would have taken care of that. He couldn't believe that Wesley actually was capable of doing something like what he had done. He couldn't believe he had actually been a friend and now, he was the one thing they all feared the most. How easily people change.  
  
* * *  
  
"I can't believe you failed, Wesley. You had her right there. Why didn't you kill her on the spot?" Lilah asked. Wesley hesitated. He didn't think he would be capable of killing someone he used to care for but now everything was fading. He had tried to hold onto every last memory but now, he had no recollection of it. He had a new life and in it he had to engage in new business deals but he knew that the next time he saw Angel, he would surely kill him. He had no doubt in his mind.  
  
"She'll die, eventually. A slow painful death is far more exciting," Wesley said to Lilah.  
  
"What are we going to do with Connor? I don't think he's going to be useful to us anymore. I can sense his longing to go back to his father. He's changing sides," Lilah asked.  
  
"Well, for now he can still be useful but whenever it starts to affect us, you know what to do," Wesley said to Lilah.  
  
"Dispose of him?" Lilah asked with a snicker. Wesley nodded his head. He had no shred of humanity left in him. He had become pure evil and he was a full human. Nothing mattered to him anymore. All he wanted was his revenge and now, he didn't care what or who came between him, even if he loved that person, he would kill anyone that tried to interfere with his plans.  
  
"I think it's time to put forth Plan B," Wesley said to Lilah. She smiled and went up to Wesley and kissed him. She had never thought she would end up falling for him but he had what she wanted. He was aggressive and he made her long for him. She wasn't an easy woman herself but Wesley was what a real man should be, in her opinion.  
  
* * *  
  
"Cordelia!" he shouted out. There was no answer. Then it hit him. The people that were lying on the ground were the same people who were in the trance. They were the ones that were fighting. He realized that the direct actions that were taken during the trance were leaving the mark on the people here. He noticed how some of them were dead. He only feared the worse for Cordelia. Then two people came running up to him. Angel turned around before they reached him.  
  
"Where's Cordelia?" Fred asked Angel.  
  
"I don't know. Have you guys seen her yet?" Angel asked.  
  
"No. We'll go look for her," Gunn said as he took Fred and began their search. Angel looked around. There were too many people. Some of them were mounted on top of each other. Then he caught the glimpse of the end of a dress that was the same color as Cordelia. Angel ran towards it. He ran as fast as he could and then saw that it was her.   
  
"Cordelia? Cordelia?" Angel called out to her as he reached her and cradled her in his arms. "Don't die! You can't die on me! We're supposed to be one now. We have each other," Angel said to her as tears ran down his cheeks. Fred and Gunn stopped in their paces when they saw Angel. They ran towards him and noticed that he had found Cordelia.  
  
"Oh my Gosh! Is she..." Fred couldn't say the last words. Tears streamed down his face as he held onto her.   
  
* * *  
  
Gunn left in search for a phone to call an ambulance. He couldn't believe this was happening. Never in his life had he asked to see all that he had seen. And now someone he cared about was on the verge to death and he didn't want to go through that again. His sister's death had impacted him a lot and he couldn't go through with it. Gunn found a nearby phone and called for an ambulance. He hung up the phone and turned around to be met with Fred's gaze.   
  
"Is she OK?" Gunn asked.  
  
"She's holding on, barely. She's really strong but I'm just scared," Fred said. He looked at her and noticed that she was crying. Gunn felt so heartbroken to see her like that. He hugged her but noticed that she flinched in pain. Gunn pulled from her.   
  
"Are you OK? Are you hurt?" he asked her looking around her to make sure.   
  
"I'm fine. I just have a few bruises from the fight back in Milan but it's no big deal. I'm just scared for Cordelia. She's the only friend I've ever had and I don't want to lose her. I don't want her to die," Fred sobbed as Gunn carefully hugged her again. He loved her so much and it caused him pain to see her like that. She didn't deserve it.  
  
"She's not going to die. You'll see. She'll be up before you know it and she'll be smiling back at us as if none of this ever happened," Gunn said to her.  
  
"I hope your right. I'm just glad nothing happened to you. I don't know what I would do if I were to lose you. I don't think I could live," she said to him. Gunn looked into her eyes. She loved him so much and he was fortunate to have someone like that to share life with. Never did he think he would fall in love with someone as he was with Fred.  
  
"Don't say that. I'm just happy to be here with you and that you're OK. I can't stand to lose another important woman in my life," he said to her as he remembered his sister.  
  
"Thanks. I can only imagine how Angel is feelin'. What do you think he's going to do to Wesley?" she asked as Gunn wiped away her tears that were flowing down her cheeks.   
  
"I don't know but if he doesn't kill him, I will," Gunn said in a determined voice.  
  
"Don't talk like that. He doesn't deserve to die," Fred said in a pleadingle manner.  
  
"He doesn't deserve to die? You see what he did to Cordelia. He threatened me to kill you if I didn't follow his orders. He deserves that and a whole lot more," Gunn said.  
  
"If you kill him, you only become him and far worse," Fred said. Gunn looked into her eyes. He knew she was right as much as it killed him to admit it but right now all he could think about was his hatred for Wesley. He couldn't believe he had gone so low.  
  
"Alright. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you, it's just that he's hurt us more than any other demon. I don't want him to hurt you," Gunn said to her.  
  
"I know. I love you," Fred said to him as she leaned her head on his chest. Gunn looked up and caught a glimpse of Wesley who was looking straight at them. Gunn just stared back at him. Maybe he wasn't going to do anything to him but all he knew was that if he ever laid a finger on Fred, he wouldn't hesitate to bring him down and Gunn made sure to let him know that with his stare. He wasn't afraid of Wesley.  
  
"I love you too. Come on. Let's go take care of those bruises," Gunn said to her as he looked into her eyes and then kissed her.  
  
* * *  
  
"Cordelia! Wake up! Don't do this to me Cordelia. Fight it! Fight it! Don't let Wesley win. Do it for me! For us! For our love!" Angel said to her. She started to wake up and eventually managed to open her eyes. She looked up into Angel's loving eyes.  
  
"I'm sorry I did this. I should have listened. I love you with all my heart. I'm sorry I was too stupid to admit it. You were right in front of my face and I just couldn't see. I love you, Angel," Cordelia said in a quiet whisper before she nodded back off.   
  
"No! Cordelia! Stay with me, please! Cordelia! Hold on just a little longer. The paramedics are on their way. They're going to take care of you and make sure you're alright. You can't die. You can't leave me. Cordelia, be strong for me, for us. We have each other now. We have something to look forward to. I love you," Angel said as he heard the paramedics enter the room. They were overwhelmed by the scene. One of the paramedics called for more back up. They were running all over the place, trying to help the ones that needed the most help. Angel saw Gunn and Fred with one of the paramedics heading towards them. The paramedic bent down and treated Cordelia.  
  
"I need some room, sir," the paramedic said to Angel. He moved a little but held onto Cordelia's hand. There was no way he was going to leave her. He noticed that the man was getting impatient and his facial expressions didn't calm Angel down.  
  
"I'm really sorry sir," the paramedic said to Angel.  
  
The End (to be continued, look for Trances, the sequel) 


End file.
